Bullet Resistant Abdominal Binder

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to abdominal binders and is particularly directed to the bullet resistant construction. Durable inner and outer semi elastic single panels will house the Spectra Shield or similar type soft armor fabric. A feature of this invention is to have the soft armour fabric run as almost as long and wide as the binder itself thus making the it bullet resistant to most handgun bullets because the Spectra Shield will be layered. An abdominal binder so formed works such that a bullet striking the binder causes the layered material to flex thereby dissipating the force of the bullet. Because Spectra Shield soft armor fabric is very lightweight and very thin, my invention will not sacrifice the desired comfort or the toning and support functions that are needed in an abdominal binder.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a bullet resistant defensive object being held in place by being tightly secured to the waistline. It will protect portions of the body against injury from being shot at close range, as may occur when a robber approaches a victim. The present invention pertains more specifically to a bullet resistant abdominal binder which also becomes a portable shield like object containing bullet resistant material such as a plurality of layers of Spectra Shield, the lightest and thinnest soft armour fabric on the market today, to protect against injury to parts of the body that would not normally be protected by an abdominal binder.

2. Background

I live in a rural area ninety miles from two major cities that adjoin each other and the amount of daily violence reported on the local news is heartbreaking. A typical day in those cities average six to ten shootings and many of those shootings result in death. It is now very common for thieves to branish a handgun just to steal a cellphone. That happens in street robberies thousands of times per year in just these two cities. I see news video of street corners in the inner cities and many in the crowd are in wheelchairs. I wonder how many are that way because they had been shot in the midsection and as a result became paralayzed. Before being shot, many of the wheelchair victims may have chosen not to wear a bulletproof vest, which would have been very noticable, but they may have likely worn an inconspicuous bullet resistant abdominal binder if such a device had existed at the time. Too many times have I heard the local news anchor say that the victim was shot in the stomach and later died at the hospital.

It can, therefore, be seen that there is a need to provide a defensive object that can be worn to protect the midsection of the wearer. Such a defensive device would need to be lightweight enough as to not to interfere with a normal course of one's activities or uncomfortable to wear. An abdominal binder built in such a way would not be considered unduly overprotective and thus embarassing to the wearer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves the aforementioned ongoing need by providing a midsection shield in the form of a bullet resistant abdominal binder defensive object that serves more than one purpose.

One function is to keep the improved binder lightweight enough and thin enough as to not interfere with the conventional needs of an abdominal binder wearer. Another function is to provide a bullet resistant device placed between the area where most vital organs are located and a robber who may point a weapon in a threatening manner. The last function is the ability to wear this defensive device under one's clothing in an inconspicuous manner.

The construction of a typical looking abdominal binder is a simple rectangular shape with a Velcro overlap of six to ten inches in the abdominal region when tightened for wear, as will my invention. Because my improved abdominal binder stretches minimumly and only in a longitudinally direction, as do most conventional binders, the overlap will more than make up for the non-stretch ability of the layers of Sprectra Shield.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows how easily and quickly the improved abdominal binder can be removed from the midsection and be brought in front of oneself.

FIG. 2 shows how the improved abdominal binder becomes a bullet resistant frontal shield.

FIG. 3 shows how the semi elastic hand strap is placed across the forehead keeping the improved abdominal binder centered which helps to protect the backside of the wearer as retreat takes place.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one of the embodiments disclosed herein, this device compromises what may be called “abdominal binder” also referred to as “ abdominal belt” which is already in use in various forms and made from various materials for helping to tone abdominal muscles and improve posture.

In the variation of the present invention mentioned above, the abdominal binder has layers of Spectra Shield built inside it. The layered liner will be almost as wide and long as the binder itself. It will be slightly smaller than the actual size of the binder as the inner and outer panels will need to be sewn together along the border of the binder. A preferred embodiment of the present invention, such layers are configured in a manner that would effectively capture a high speed bullet and absorbing its energy and still be lightweight enough and thin enough as to not interfere with the conventional needs of an abdominal binder. More specifically, in the present invention a number of layers of Spectra Shield are placed in between the inner and outer panels of the abdominal binder. These single panels of material with some elastic ability to them, are sewn together along the border of the binder and will house the layers of Spectra Shield but the layers will not be attached to the panels in any way. These layers will be independent and stay stationary as the panels stretch around it when the binder is being tightened for wear.

Spectra Shield is the most lightweight bullet resistant material on the market today and can be purchased by the public. It only weighs 3.8 ounces per square yard and one layer is as thin as a sheet of meatpacking paper. Studies are very consistent in the findings of the capability of this product. The findings I have read all state that most high caliber bullets fired from a handgun can only penetrate up to eight layers of Spectra Shield before being stopped and the shooting distance was only seven feet or less in all tests I read. Most lower caliber bullets fired from a handgun can only penetrate one to three layers before being stopped. Low to lowest caliber bullets just bounce off the first layer. The binder should be at least 12 inches wide, even for a smaller adult female. That way all vital abdominal organs on almost all wearers will be protected. The exact width and Length may be larger or smaller to protect different sized people. Assuming an abdominal Binder was 3 feet long and 1 foot wide, 3 layers would increase the weight of a Conventional binder by 3.8 ounces. The trauma liner needs to be increased to 9 layers, which could stop most high caliber bullets fired from a handgun. The chance that a typical street robber is carrying a high caliber handgun are slim as most prefer a smaller handgun which is easier to conceal and that causes the caliber of the bullet to be lower. The increase in weight as a result of this improvement will be less than 12 ounces, hardly Noticeable to the conventional abdominal binder wearer, considering the improvements that were made.

Another variation of the invention is to include a hand strap centrally located Under the portion of the binder that is overlapping the abdominal region and held in place with Velcro as seen in FIG. 1. The strap would be large enough to be grasped by at least one hand so the binder can be quickly converted to a bullet resistant shield which could be employed to protect parts of the body not otherwise protected. The abdominal binder is quickly unfastened and the hand strap grasped at the same time so that almost instantly it can be held vertically and in front of oneself, providing a portable bullet resistant frontal protection shield for most, if not all of one's vital organs, depending on the physical size of the wearer as seen in FIG. 2.

There are times where it may be advantageous to run, as in a situation similar to an office shooting where you do not see the shooter but from the sound of gunfire you know it is getting closer. The hand strap could be used to fling the binder over the shoulder and a portion of the binder would then be brought up to help protect the back of the head and neck. The hand strap will be made of a semi-elastic fabric so that it could be placed over the forehead which allows the binder to be held in place in a snug fashion and allows the hands to be free as seen in FIG. 3. The Velcro on the back of the head also helps to keep the remaining portion of the binder centered and protecting the backside as well as possible as retreat takes place.

Some modifications to the foregoing embodiments discussed above will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, but it should be appreciated that such variations are intended to be within the scope of the present invention covered by the following claims. 

Having described my invention, what I claim as new is:
 1. My invention improves a conventional abdominal binder by making it bullet resistant while maintaining all the needed functions of a conventional abdominal binder.
 2. The improved abdominal binder can quickly become a bullet resistant frontal shield by grasping the hand strap as described while undoing the Velcro and almost instantly it can be raised to help protect body parts that would not normally be protected, or the hand strap can be placed across the forehead as described to keep the abdominal binder centered as it helps to protect the backside while retreat takes place. 